


One Last Chance, Two Wild Cards

by araraya



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Multi, New Game Plus, adding tags as I go, kind of, platonic akeshu, repeating the year
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-13
Updated: 2018-04-09
Packaged: 2019-03-30 20:23:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13959315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/araraya/pseuds/araraya
Summary: On his train ride back to his hometown, Akira is summoned by Igor to the Velvet Room. He offers him a second chance to go back and re-live the year to correct his mistakes and perhaps, if he'd like, save some people who should have been saved.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I got some preeeetty long afternote, so brace yourself.

Out of things that Akira expects to happen in his life, getting arrested for a crime he didn’t commit is _not_ one of them. Perhaps if he got arrested for a crime he actually _did_ commit, he might be able to accept it. Not that he would even commit any crime at all, since Akira is the living embodiment of a good kid, the kind of kid that parents would brag to pretty much anyone who would listen, and they have actually been bragging about him to their relatives and friends alike.

Well, now that Akira had done something shameful to their family, he didn’t expect them to continue bragging about him anymore. He had told them his side of the story, the _true_ side of the story, but they still look disappointed nonetheless.

“This is why I told you it’s better to mind your own business,” his father exhaled heavily.

_Is it so wrong to help someone in distress?_ Akira had no idea what’s right and wrong anymore.

What made Akira even more down was the fact that his school expelled him for his criminal record, not even bothering his side of story. At that point, all he wanted to do is to shut himself from the world until his probation was over, or maybe forever, that didn’t sound so bad.

His parents told him that there was a school that finally would accept him despite his record and that he was going to Tokyo soon. It’s so sudden, and Tokyo was so far away, not to mention he had never been there before.

He had planned to go to the big cities such as Tokyo, or Osaka, or maybe even somewhere closer such as Fukuoka after he’s graduated from high school. After all, a small rural town like Iwakuni didn’t have any education institutes higher than high school. But going to Tokyo because there was no other school that were willing to accept him is not the way he had in mind.

And he had definitely never thought nor dream about living in Tokyo in the attic of a shabby coffee shop. Not to mention that the owner of the coffee shop, Sojiro, was also not exactly the friendliest person he had ever met.

Nonetheless, his year in Tokyo was a year he will never forget for the rest of his life. Think about it, how many people in this world had gotten the chance to befriend a talking cat, summoning monsters, or even battle a god? Or maybe something as simple as getting a group of friends whom he’s sure to be his bestest friends for the rest of his life.

Akira waves his hand at his friends who have finally taken him to the station so he could catch his train back to Iwakuni and they yell at him some things that he can’t hear very well due to the train that’s finally moving. He checks his phone and chuckled at the heartfelt messages that his friends sent him and replies simply.

Beside him, Morgana curls up, peacefully sleeping. Akira smiles and puts his phone away, and he crosses his arms and closes his eyes.

 

* * *

To Akira’s surprise, he wakes up in the Velvet Room. The cell door is open, though, and he’s still wearing his clothes instead of the jail uniform. Akira sits up and turns to Igor and Lavenza and nods at them.

Slowly, Akira walks towards the two of them. He raises his eyebrows at Igor, who asks him to sit down on a chair that wasn’t there before. Akira complies.

“Welcome back to the Velvet Room,” Igor says with Igor’s voice, not Yaldabaoth’s.

“Why am I here again?” Akira asks, “Is there still something left for me to do?”

“Oh, no. Everything is done and over,” Igor nods, “However, I’m going to give you a second chance. That is, if you’d like to.”

Akira frowns, “A second chance? Of what?”

“Of everything, of course.”

“The master is offering you to turns back the time to relive the year and correct what was right and wrong, what should and what shouldn’t have been done,” Lavenza explains.

“Or perhaps, to save people who should have been saved,” Igor grins, “This time, there would be no tricks or gimmicks. It’d be up to you, _the_ wild card, to write your journey as you wish. You are allowed to do the same thing as you did and relive the life you had, or you can do some things differently, and perhaps save more people.”

Igor’s wording makes it sounds complicated, but Akira understands what he wants. He wants him to save Akechi. He thinks Akechi is also a victim of the cruel game of Yaldabaoth’s, and Igor, perhaps feels guilty for being defeated by that wicked god.

And Akira knows that Igor can’t go to the real world, and thus making him rely on Akira, the wild card.

Akira stays silent as he thinks of his options. He doesn’t hate Akechi, but he sure doesn’t like the guy either. Still, it doesn’t mean that he deserved to die. After all, Akechi was also a victim of Shido’s. But to relive the entire year to keep him from dying?

Would Akira do that?

Igor and Lavenza stay quiet as they wait for Akira’s answer. They stare at him blankly, and Igor would tap his fingers out of boredom, while Lavenza sighs and twirls her hair.

“I’ll do it,” Akira finally says.

“Oh?” Igor grins.

“I’ll do it. I’ll change the story to something… acceptable to me, and to you.”

“Very well then,” Igor nods at Lavenza.

Lavenza opens the book in her hand, “Please sign the contract.”

Akira signs the book messily, and hands it back to her. Lavenza examines his signature and nods before placing it in front of her master. Igor grins and flicks his finger in the air, and the book magically shuts.

“Well then, the contract is sealed.”

 

* * *

When Akira comes to, he’s inside Leblanc’s toilet. His hands, face, and bangs are wet and he feels sluggish, like he has just had six hours long train ride.

_Ah,_ Akira thinks, this is his first day in Tokyo.

He then goes upstairs with tired and heavy movement to the attic, or rather, his room. The attic is messy and dusty, which is a complete opposite of his room back in Iwakuni. His room may be smaller than the attic, but at least it looks like a room. Akira sighs, _home sweet home_.

He feels sluggish from the six hours train ride, but he can’t breathe inside this “room” without coughing for longer than five minutes, so he lazily cleans the room as best as he can.

“I’ve heard voices from downstairs, but I didn’t think you’d be cleaning,” Sojiro says, sounding impressed, “Anyway, we’re going to Seiichi tomorrow, so you should rest up for now.”

“Seiichi?” Akira asks, tilting his head.

“Don’t you know?” Sojiro sighs, “That’s where you’re going to school. Seiichi Academy.”

_Not Shujin?_

But Akira nods and bows slightly at Sojiro as he heads home. He sighs loudly when Sojiro’s gone and flops down on his bed, taking out his phone to see if there is anyone from home asking how he’s doing or, you know, anything at all.

None. How surprising.

He taps his phone idly after that and finds a familiar app that should have been uninstalled the first thing he arrived in Tokyo. The creepy red eye icon of the app now doesn’t look as scary as it used to be during the first timeline, and he even considers activating it just for the sake of it. But Akira scoffs and shakes his head, he puts away his phone and changes into a pajama.

 

* * *

To his surprise, Seiichi Academy turns out to be a fancy semi-international school. He had imagined it to be a run-down school that needs new students so badly, since they accept him there, but his guess is way off.

Akira frowns, confused. He looks around at the pristine white wall of the corridor and at the large windows that shows him a great deal of the inside of the classroom. Honestly, the glasses made the classrooms looking like an aquarium of some sort. The shoes locker is placed in front of every classroom, unlike Shujin that placed the locker in front of the lobby. The school looks too good for someone with a record like him, it confuses him to no end.

As it turns out, his earlier confusion is short lived as he steps inside the headmaster office. There, right beside the man whom he assumed to be the headmaster, stands a boy with long brown hair who looks around his age, smiling at him with a bright smile. Akechi Goro.

Goro is wearing a shirt with a vest over it and tan trousers, and he smiles an easy smile at Akira as he approaches him and shakes his hand.

“Hello, my name is Akechi Goro, nice to meet you, Kurusu-kun,” greets the boy, still beaming at him with a smile as bright as the sun and as fake as the leather of his loafers.

But Akira smiles back at him politely, “Just Akira would be fine.”

Akira later finds out that Goro will act as his parole officer for the year. Akira raises his eyebrows at that, eyeing Goro in a curious stare, to which Goro replies with a chuckle.

The words given by the headmaster is simple and straight to the point: he’s to be supervised by Goro and should he cause any trouble during the year, he’s to be expelled. Akira must hold back his sigh as he nods and tells the headmaster that he understands.

Even Sojiro shakes his head and sighs tiredly as soon as they’re out of the office. He glances at Akira and scratches the back of his neck.

“Well, just hang in there,” he says as he shakes his head. He then turns away and walks towards the stairs.

Akira smiles and follows the man closely from behind. He takes the time to look left and right, observing the school that will soon be the place he’d go to everyday. It’d be a lie to say that he feels really out of place there. After all, he’s but a country bumpkin from an unknown small town of Iwakuni.

“Uhm, excuse me!” calls someone from behind. The two looks back at Goro, who’s jogging to catch up with the two, “I’m sorry, Sakura-san, but if it’s alright may I go home with Akira-kun?”

Sojiro and Akira look at each other, then at Goro, who’s chuckling sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

“I was thinking that maybe it’d be weird for Akira-kun to be supervised by his own senpai, so I wanted to try and befriend him, if by a little? Just so it wouldn’t be awkward,” Goro explains casually, “But you don’t have to if you don’t want to!”

At that, Sojiro shrugs and looks at Akira, letting him decide for himself. Akira nods at him, telling him silently that he doesn’t mind, and Sojiro smiles at Goro politely, nodding.

“Just make sure to return him in one piece. I’m still responsible of him, after all,” he says as he walks towards the parking spot by himself.

Goro approaches Akira, still with his bright, fake smile that in truth, bothers Akira a little, not that he’d complain to people for smiling at him.

“Do you like sweets? I know a great place to eat pancake!” Goro says unexpectedly.

Akira raises his eyebrows at that, but smiles and answers, “Yeah, sure, I’ll eat anything.”

“Great! Let’s go to Harajuku then!”

 

* * *

Harajuku is the way he remembers it to be. Just a busy district that disappointed Akira the first time he was here, since it’s way more normal than how the magazine has convinced him it to be. Sure, there are some eccentric-looking people from time to time, but it’s not like the district is swarmed by them.

Also, Goro seems to be a regular at the pancake restaurant they’re in right now, since the first thing the waitress asked him was if he wanted the “usual”, to which he says yes and thank the lady. Akira orders a plate of ricotta pancake, as suggested enthusiastically by Goro.

Goro’s “usual” turns out to be pancake with banana split on the side, and he munches the food with such delight that makes Akira chuckles at the sight.

“So,” Goro starts, “How do you like Tokyo so far?”

“It’s crowded,” Akira shrugs, “People walks really fast here, like they’re being chased by someone or something. It’s… different.”

“Ah, yes. I’ve never been to Iwakuni before, but I imagine life must have been more relaxed there,” he nods, “I’ve wanted to go there for quite some time, though. Do you read often?”

Akira nods, “When I have the time.”

“Well, you should know the book ‘Musashi’, you know, the one by Yoshikawa Eiji? Well, I’ve always wanted to go see Sasaki Kojiro’s, the rival of Miyamoto Musashi, statue there.”

“It’s… just some statue, there is nothing special about it,” Akira says hesitantly, trying to remember if there is anything special about said statue.

Goro smiles, “Still.”

“Akechi-senpai.”

“Goro.”

“But-”

Goro smiles at him silently, and Akira gives up.

“ _Goro_ -senpai,” he tries again, “If I may ask, how come you’re an officer _and_ a high school student at the same time?” _and wasn’t he a detective?_

“Oh? I’m not with the police,” Goro chuckles, “I’m a rookie detective. I only volunteered to be your parole officer because I heard that there would be someone on probation going to my school.”

“That—you can do that?”

Goro shakes his head, “I mean, I _am_ a rookie _,_ and they’re probably too lazy to do the job anyway, so,” he shrugs and drinks his coffee.

“Huh,” Akira mirrors Goro’s action.

They talk for a while, well, Goro did most of the talking, and they head to the station not long after. Goro tells Akira where and what line he needs to take to go home and school, and parts.

“Well, here is my contact,” he hands him a business card, “I’ll wait for you in Shibuya Station before school, so you don’t get lost on the way there. Don’t forget to contact me when you head out, ok?”

Akira waves at him after that, noting that Goro takes the train to Nakano, and wonders to himself why he goes to Seiichi Academy which is located in Minato, instead of going to a school in Nakano. Surely there is a school good enough in Nakano? Akira shrugs, and save the number that’s written on the business card, and heads towards his own platform.


	2. Seiichi Academy

“Welcome back to the Velvet Room,”

The Velvet Room is no longer a jail now; it is now a cosy cafe that makes him feel like it’d make a good place to hang out with friends and family. The wall and interiors are, of course, velvet. The room contains a few lovely sofas lined up, and the counter right beside Igor is shiny, like it’s made of smooth marble.

Lavenza stands behind the counter, wiping the dishes, and Igor sits on a velvet sofa across Akira, the two are divided by a pretty, oval table. Akira himself is sitting in a nice, comfy armchair that has velvet cushion and slick, dark wood. The cushion is as soft as a cloud and he can’t help but to relax even with the presence of Igor and Lavenza. Akira turns and looks at the empty chair beside him.

“Is this for who I think this is for?” Akira asks, pointing at the empty chair.

“That’s up to you to decide,” Igor taps his hands on the table.

“All this time, the other wild card has always been capable of seeing the door to the Velvet Room. But not once has he ever paid us any visit,” Lavenza explains flatly.

 "Ah,” is all Akira can say, “Do you want me to bring him here?”

“Again, that is for you to decide,” Igor answers, “Would you share your power to someone else? Someone like _him_?”

Would he? Akira thinks to himself. After all, Goro had betrayed him in the past. Sure, he had expected him to and he was the one inviting Goro to betray him, and he had planned every single action to take and knew what to expect. But like a naive optimist, Akira was still half-wishing that their Goro would have stayed loyal to the Phantom Thieves instead of Shido.

Naive he may be, but Akira knows that he had done it for _his_ own justice. After all, every villain is the hero of their sense and idea of justice. To Goro, Akira was the villain, and to Akira, he was the villain. It’s a never ending circle of pointing the blame. 

Akira plays with his bangs as he thinks. Defeating Goro was difficult, even when he did it with everyone. But he knows that it was probably harder for Goro to hang onto his life and without other people to support and protect him, the only one whom he could rely on was him, himself, and he alone. Which, tragically, how it had always been for him all his life.

Akira remembers Goro’s past and background, how Shido abandoned him and how his mother committed suicide, and how he lived with foster families, being tossed around from one family to the other. Akira can easily imagined that as a child, Goro would have to learn gradually and painfully how he shouldn’t become too attached to one family, no matter how nice they were to him, and that gradually worsen to the point where he felt like he shouldn’t even be too attached to one person.

Someone like _him_ , Igor said. What does that mean? A traitor? A sociopath? Or is it something else entirely? Because the more Akira thinks about it, Goro might have just been a hurt, broken, and lonely person. The way Goro’s mind work is that if he has nothing to offer, no one would stay by his side.

Which is sad. Even worse, it’s sad _and_ understandable, considering the environment he grew up in.

Akira exhales heavily, undoing some of the knots in his mind, and how it feels like he has just let a stack of bricks on top of his head drops. He raises his head to look at Igor right in the eye.

“It’s exactly because it’s someone like him, I’d share this power.”

“Oh?” Igor raises his eyebrows.

“He’s guilty, yes. But at the same time he’s… not. He’s lost, is all.”

“Interesting,” Igor strokes his chin, nodding, “Very well, then. If that’s your decision.”

Akira nods back at him, and Igor grins from ear to ear, clearly amused. From behind the counter, Lavenza stares at him with a tiny little bit of smile on her face, a look of approval.

“Well then,” Igor leans back on his seat and snaps his fingers, “Until we meet again, Fool.”

Akira’s eyes snap open, and a bright ray of sunlight pierces his poor eyes. He groans and shifts on his bed, only to fall down the bed with a loud bump and an even louder groan.

* * *

 

Just like how it went during the first timeline, Sojiro serves Akira curry before he heads to school. Warm nostalgia fills Akira’s heart as he eats the familiar spicy food in front him, smiling brighter than the sun at Sojiro who stares at him suspiciously and scoffs, shaking his head.

It’s been a day, but it still doesn’t feel very real to Akira. Last night, all Akira did was repeatedly checking his phone calendar and his instant messenger to see if he was merely imagining the whole day away while he was on the train back to Iwakuni. But the date still showed April 10th and his last message was from his concerned brother four days ago with no messages from Phantom Thieves member to be found. He concluded that he wasn’t dreaming.

Akira claps his hands and thanks Sojiro for the meal, and Sojiro asks him to flip the sign on the door. Akira complies and takes out his phone, opening his IM.

 **Akira** : I’m heading to school.

His phone buzzes not long after.

 **Goro** : Alright, see you in Shibuya!

Akira presses his lips into a thin line, and swipes his phone as he walks to the station. He stares at the Metaverse App, his fingers hover above the icon.

He wonders if Goro would realise if he activates the app later on if they meet Ryuji, no, _when_ they meet Ryuji. He has planned it all so that they would meet Ryuji and Ann. He knows that it would rain today and Ryuji would be running after Kamoshida’s car, so if his calculation is correct and Goro is punctual, they _should_ meet Ryuji at some point.

It’s a good thing Seiichi’s closest station is also Aoyama-Itchome.

Akira gets on the train and tries his best to calm his heart that’s beating uncontrollably. He taps his finger on his trousers and stares at the train map above his head, wishing the train would get to Shibuya faster.

* * *

 

Akira looks around the Shibuya Station looking for Goro. The last message from him told him that he’s in front of the bakery, and yet Akira is there, standing still as the crowd moves from and to every directions, and Goro is nowhere to be found.

 **Akira** : Where are you? 

“Good morning Akira-kun,” Goro’s soft voice greets him from behind.

Akira turns around and is met by the sight of Goro, holding a half eaten bread and smiling at him as best as he can while he chews. Akira laughs, and Goro’s smile _finally_ changes into a genuine smile and laughs along with him.

“Sorry, I realised that I left my train pass at home, so I had to buy a ticket,” Goro explains as they walk towards Ginza Line gate.

Akira shrugs it off and tells him that it’s fine since he hasn’t waited long. _And they should still be able to get in Aoyama-Itchome in time_ , Akira thinks to himself, smiling a meaningful smile.

Akira’s smug pride dies not long after, though. Goro stops him by his arm when he’s about to get off the train in Aoyama-Itchome.

“Just one more stop,” Goro explains, smiling apologetically.

“I thought Aoyama-Itchome is the closest?” Akira asks, confused.

“You can get off in Aoyama-Itchome, yes. But our school is actually sandwiched by the two stations, with approximately the same distances to either of them,” Goro nods, “But, the next stop, Akasaka-Mitsuku, is surrounded by more stores and places to eat, and many students hang out there after school. So I just thought you might want to see them.”

Akira holds back his sigh of disappointment and tries to calm himself. After all, Goro is only trying to get him familiar to the location.

Akira scratches the back of his neck, “Thank you.”

“No problem!” Goro smiles another plastic smile at him.

True to his word, Goro shows him around the area by the station. He walks beside him as he points out which ramen shop has decent ramen, and which ones are not worth the price like a true food enthusiast. If Akira hasn’t met Goro in the first timeline, he knows that he’d think of him as a friendly, outgoing, and overall a nice senpai. But since he has met him and knows what he’s actually like, he keeps his mouth shut as he acts like Goro’s act gets him.

Akira is glad that Goro keeps going on and on and on, since his mind  right now isn’t exactly where his body is. He thinks of how his plan on meeting Ryuji and maybe Ann failed. Because should he had succeeded, they’d be in the Metaverse right now and this time, Goro would be there with them.

He had planned on using the Metaverse App after they meet Ryuji, just like how it went in the first timeline. This time, though, Akira would have known what he’s doing and he’d directly go towards Morgana to save him. After all, Morgana holds the key to their adventure.

And perhaps he would have teach Goro how to negotiate with the shadows and make them one of his own. While Goro only had two personas in the first timeline, Goro is still a wild card like him. Having another wild card would greatly aid the team in battle, not to mention Goro’s neutral persona ability would be a great asset too.

“Akira-kun?”

Akira instantly snaps back to reality, “Yes, senpai?”

“You were spacing out,” Goro tilts his head, “Care to share what was in your mind?”

Akira’s brain works hard on an excuse. Searching left and right for any kind of idea to make a short, plausible story, “It’s nothing,” he starts, “I was just thinking of how my school life will go. You know, typical school transfer anxiety… and there is also my criminal record.”

Akira puffs his chest and internally pats himself on the back for coming up with that excuse in literal seconds.

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about your record! We keep them confidential, so you should do okay. Though, you’re welcome to come to me if you’re feeling lonely,” Goro chuckles.

Akira smiles sheepishly at him in return and avert his gaze somewhere else. He thinks back of the first timeline, where his supposedly-secret criminal record was leaked by Mishima--by Kamoshida’s order of course, so he’s not fully the one at fault.

“I see. Thank you,” is all Akira can say at Goro’s words.

Goro nods, “Well, here we are,” he holds the front lobby door for Akira, “I’m heading straight to class, but you should go and see your homeroom in the faculty office. It’s on the second floor, across the classrooms.”

“I understand. Thank you, senpai,” Akira bows shallowly to Goro, and he waves his hand to Akira as he walks away.

Akira can feel the stare of other students and he feels like an alien. He hasn’t heard anyone mentioning criminal record, and so far the only questions they’re whispering to themselves is if he’s a transfer student. So at least that’s a good start.

Akira inhales deeply and opens the faculty office door politely.

* * *

 

Akira’s new homeroom is the exact opposite of Ms. Kawakami. He’s a tall, chubby man in his 40’s, his hair is swept back and he wears one earring on his right ear, his eyes wrinkle when he smiles warmly at Akira.   

“Ah! I’ve been waiting for you,” he greets Akira with his baritone, hoarse voice, “You’re Kurusu-kun, yes?”

Akira bows, “Please to meet you sir.”

“Such manner! My name is Kawahara Akira, nice to meet you Kurusu Akira-kun!” he laughs, “We have the same name, see? Inui-kun, don’t you think we even look alike?” he turns to ask a pair of students who pass by his desk.

The students, a girl and a boy, scoff at him simultaneously. The boy pats his shoulder casually, much to Akira’s surprise. He had never met anyone who would touch a teacher with such a casual gesture and such familiarity, and he had never met any teacher who would just laugh it off. It reminds him of one of those scene in movies and TV shows where the teacher is not only a teacher, but a friend to their students at the same time. Not that he had ever meet one in real life.

“First of all, Kawa-chan, your kanji is different than his,” the boy holds points at his name in the Mr. Kawahara’s attendance he’s holding, “Second, I don’t know, maybe you need to stop brushing your hair backwards, oh right! You can’t! Because you did it to hide your bald spot!”

The two laugh loudly, and Akira has to purse his lips to stop himself from laughing, but even Mr. Kawahara laughs along with the two.

“Come now, brother, I’m sure Kawa-chan has something similar to the transfer student,” the girls speaks, “Sorry, would you mind taking off your glasses?” Akira chuckles and takes off his glasses. The girl winks at him as she mockingly tries to look for some kind of resemblance between him and Mr. Kawahara, “Yup. Pretty sure Kawa-chan looks a lot like his eye boogers.”

Well that did it, Akira laughs along with the three as he checks his eyes for any eye boogers. Mr. Kawahara seems completely unoffended and claps his hands as he laughs the loudest of the four.

Mr. Kawahara wheezes as he waves his hand to the two, “Alright, back to your classes, twins.”

The twin roll their eyes at him, but waves their hands back at him and exits the faculty office anyway. Mr. Kawahara shakes his head with a fond smile.

“Well, that’s that. No need to be so formal, I’m really bad at it,” Mr. Kawahara mocks a frown, “Shall we head to class as well?”

Akira’s class is 2-C, which is located at the left end of second floor. In front of it is a class that looks different than the other classes. The floor is carpet and it has approximately ten bean chairs scattered about, the “aquarium windows” really shows a great deal of every classes, after all. Mr. Kawahara explains to him that that’s the English conversation club’s room.

Mr. Kawahara smiles at him and asks if he’s ready, and upon seeing Akira’s nod, he slides open the classroom door.

* * *

 

Either Goro was true to his words, or the people in this school are just indifferent towards his record, but Akira has yet to hear anyone mentions his record today. His classmates treated him nicely upon his introduction and he was asked a few questions by a few of his classmates. He also discovers that the twin, the boy one, is in the same class as he.

Akira doesn’t get swarmed by his classmates after class, but the twin guy approaches him and sits on the chair beside him casually, facing him with a huge grin on his face. Akira smiles and nods at him.

“So, Akira, yeah? Can I call you that?” Akira nods,  “I’m Inui Shougo, my twin, the one you saw this morning, is Sayaka. We’re from Hiroshima, you see. We’ve only been in Tokyo for 2 years, so let’s get along as a fellow Chugoku-jin, okay?”

Shougo, in a way, reminds him of Ryuji. The differences are that he has his hair black and a couple of helix piercing on his left ear. His eyes are light almond, they almost look golden when the sun hits in the right angle. Like Ryuji, his stance is slouched and he has a habit of putting his hands in his pockets. He doesn’t follow the standard uniform either, choosing to wear a navy sweater alone instead of shirt and blazer. Unlike Akira who chose to conceal his dialect and speaks in standard Japanese, Shougo speaks in thick Chugoku dialect, and he seems unashamed of it.

Oh, and he seems to be a Devil Arcana.

“Yeah, let’s get along,” Akira nods, smiling at Shougo.

“Great! Sayaka and I are about to head to Shibuya after this. You comin’?”

Akira glances to the window and spots Goro outside, waving his hand at him. He shakes his head, “Sorry. Goro-senpai is waiting for me,” he points at Goro.

“Ooh! You know him? Where? How? Ain’t he a detective or somethin’?” Shougo turns to Goro and bows slightly to him, in which Goro nods back.

“It’s uh… a long story,” Akira scratches the back of his neck.

Shougo pats his shoulder casually and nods, “Well alright then. I’mma head to Sayaka’s class. See ya!”

Akira waves at him as he exits the classroom. Akira looks out the window and it seems a lot of people greet Goro every now and then as he waits for him, since he keeps nodding and waving his hand every few seconds. It makes him wonder how someone as popular, admired, and most likely loved by many can feel alone despite it.

Akira approaches Goro and they head to the station in silence. Goro’s phone keeps buzzing every minutes and his expression darkens every time he reads the messages in his phone.

Akira pulls out his phone from his pocket and, again, stares at the Metaverse app. He then glances at Goro, who is still frowning at his phone as he types something in it. Akira _needs_ to somehow bring Goro into the Metaverse, but he can’t tell the detective that he knows all of his secrets and blackmails him, no. After all, Akira’s objective is to save him. And if he’s going to save someone, he’d rather do it in such a way that the other person would actually trust him.

But _how_ is the biggest, most crucial question. Telling Goro that, “Hi, I have a persona and I know you do too. Wanna go and steal evil people’s heart?” would be weird. On another side, forcefully pulling him into the Metaverse would be...

Besides, how is he supposed to just activate the Metaverse when he’s with him? Surely saying “Kamoshida Suguru the teacher in Shujin Academy, Castle” out of nowhere doesn’t sound natural.

_“So go to the Mementos.”_

_Arsene?_

_“You’re a good liar, boy. I know you are. You’ll come up with something, but make sure to go to Mementos.”_

Arsene has a point. If he plays it well, he might be able to go to the core of the Metaverse, Mementos. Not to mention that Mementos is located in the Shibuya station, a station they both go to everyday.

_“You’re welcome.”_

Akira scoffs at Arsene, and grins sheepishly as Goro looks at him for scoffing at nothing. Goro tilts his head, but Akira just shakes his head lightly.

“So, how was your first day?” Goro asks as they get on the train.

Akira shrugs, “It’s nice.”

“So it seems. You already got a new friend, after all, yes?”

“Well, I’m just glad that nobody talks about my record.”

“I told you they won’t know about that,” Goro chuckles, “Oh, but Mr. Kawahara knows, of course. I fact, he was the one volunteering to take you into his class. He’s nice, isn’t he?”

“He did?” Akira asks, surprised.

“Yup. He’s the kindest teacher in the school, in my opinion. He’s not everyone’s favourite for nothing.”

Then, the two talk about school and its activities. Goro lists out every clubs for him and asks him if he’s interested in anything, to which Akira replies that he’s usually in the go-home club, and Goro chuckles.

Goro then asks him about a lot of things, and it makes Akira feel like he’s getting interviewed by him. It may or may not be unintentional, though. After all, Goro _is_ a detective. And Akira tries not to answer him rudely whenever he asks for things that are a little bit in the sensitive side.

After a while, the two get off in Shibuya, and Akira takes out his phone, and he prepares to activate the app.

The two are now walking around the station square, since Akira asked him about train lines and where it would lead him to. Goro is pointing each and every line in the station from outside of the building and Akira pretends to be listening.

“Goro-senpai,” Akira calls, “There is a place in Tokyo that I’ve always wanted to go. Would you tell me which train to get?”

Goro smiles his signature fake smile and nods, “If I can!”

_“Very good.”_

“Thank you very much, that’s very nice of you,” Akira smirks, “The place is called,”

Akira taps on the app icon.

“Mementos.”

The navigator app confirms the place, and just like that, the world around them warps and shifts. The sky turns dark and everyone around them disappeared, just like how Akira remembers it to be.

In front of him, Goro’s eyes widened and his jaw drops. He looks around in panic, then glares at Akira.

“What did you do?” he asks in a low growl.

“Cognitive world,” Akira answers casually, “I accidentally saw the application icon in your phone, so I assume this won’t be your first time here, am I correct?”

“What?!” Goro snaps, then whispers to himself, “I’m not the only one with this power?”

Akira shakes his head, “No. Anyone can have one as long as they have accepted themselves as who they are, and have control over their cognition.”

“You seem to be…” Goro says carefully, “Knowledgeable.”

“I am,” Akira nods, “And I can tell you much more things, if you’d like?”

Goro purses his lips, his face sour. He glares at Akira sharply and Akira can swear that a thick, dark aura is coming towards him from where Goro stands. He can feel Goro eyeing him from head to toe in suspicion, as he should.

Akira holds his hands in the air in mock surrender as Goro circles him like a dog sniffing for a drug. He  scratches the back of his neck awkwardly, but let his upperclassman inspect him anyway. After all, Akira would 100% do the same thing if he’s in his shoes.

“How long have you been doing this?” Goro asks in a low, suspicious voice.

“A year or so,” Akira drops his hands.

Goro scoffs, “That’s the same amount of time as me. You can’t know much more than I do.”

Akira shakes his head, “But I do. Igor told me you have yet to awaken your full power.”

“Igor?” Goro’s eyes narrowed, “Who’s Igor?”

“The one granting us this power.”

“What?!” Goro yells at him. Akira stays still, though his stance is getting defensive. Realising that, Goro tries to calm himself, “ _You_ know who granted us this power.”

“Well, technically he granted _me_ power, and someone else granted you power. It’s a long story, but I’m sure he wouldn’t mind telling you the complete version of the story,” Akira strokes his chin, “If you’d like to meet him, that is.”

Goro glares at him intensifies as he approached him, but Akira’s attitude remains nonchalant. He can see that Goro is trying to see any sign of lie, but the longer he looks for it, the more he becomes unsure of his suspicions towards him.

Goro exhales heavily as he pinches the bridge of his nose tiredly, “Fine. But you better not lie to me.”

Akira tilts his head and smirks at him, “Never.”


	3. The Velvet Room

When Akira steps into the Velvet Room with Goro, the interior has, again, changed. The room is now a plain, under-furnished room with dirty burgundy wall and hardwood floor that’s no less dirty than the wall. The design of the window frames are gothic and Akira supposed that if they weren’t so dirty, then maybe they would either be in black or really dark bronze. 

The scenery outside is concealed by fog, but Akira can still make out the outline shape that of people walking. In real life, that amount of people would cause at least a buzz of white noise, especially when the windows are without glasses. But here, the room is ghost-quiet and the tiniest of friction of shoes on the floor would sound like the most thunderous sound. 

In front of him are Igor who sits on a pitiful, uncomfortable-looking metal chair, and Lavenza, who stands right beside Igor’s desk with her small arms hugging the persona pandemonium book. There are two empty chairs in front of the desk, made out of the same material as Igor’s, if not worse. Akira stares at them, internally cringing.

“Welcome to the Velvet Room,” Igor greets the two, eyes fixed at Goro, “Looks like we have a new guest.”

“Please sit down,” Lavenza says.

“What is this place?” Goro asks, refusing to sit down. He looks around the room and walks towards the windows.

Goro stretches his arm out and swings it around, but the fog is so dense, it doesn’t budge a single micrometer. He frowns and grabs on to the window frame, attempting to jump out of the room.

“Interesting child,” Igor chuckles, and Akira nods as he watches Goro in silence from his seat.

At the sound of Goro screaming, Akira jumps to his feet. He’s been watching Goro all along, and he’s been watching Goro slipping his leg from the gap of the window frame, his hands clutching on the frame and he seems to be unharmed. Despite that, Akira worries nonetheless.

“I’m fine! I’m fine!” Goro says hurriedly, pulling his leg back and exhales, “There is no ground! How are those people walking?!”

Goro snaps his head at Akira, who’s still standing in front of his seat with a confused but amused face, “Kurusu, you better have a good explanation!”

Akira scratches the back of his neck and shrugs, glancing at Igor instead. He lets Goro approaches him with fire in his eyes. Again, he turns to Igor for help, but the long nosed man chuckles instead.

“Please sit down,” Lavenza repeats, then frowns at Goro, “Or are you still not done?”

Akira sits back down, and the three stare at Goro, who gives up and sits on the painfully uncomfortable chair. Akira nods at him, then motions him to ask to Igor instead. Goro glares at him, but does as he told.

“Who are you and what is this place?” Goro asks.

Igor grins, “My name is Igor, and this is Lavenza. This is the Velvet Room, a space that transcends both dreams and reality.”

“The shape of the room changes depending on how you see yourself in the world,” Lavenza continues, “His used to be a prison, and then it was a cafe,” she nods at Akira. She turns to Goro slowly, “This seems to be yours, Trickster. Your cognition of the world overpowers his, and thus, it changes the whole room into your cognition instead of his.”

“Trickster?” Goro repeats, and waits for further explanation. But the girl nods and says no more, so Goro asks again, “What  _ is _ the Velvet Room? What makes it so important?”

“You are the wildcard, the trickster; Both of you are,” Igor shifts on his seat, “The Velvet Room provides its humble support and services to you on your journey.”

Goro frowns, then turns to Akira, “I don’t understand.”

“Basically, most people only have one persona,” Akira hesitantly begins, “You have more than one, yes?” Goro nods, “So have I. We’re… special case.”

“And they granted us this power?” 

Akira tilts his head, “He granted  _ me _ power. Someone posed as him and granted  _ you _ power.”

“What?” Goro knits his eyebrows.

“I was defeated by a - well, god, who goes by the name Yaldabaoth a year ago,” Igor explains, “He posed as me and granted the wildcard power to you. Because he knew about your resentment towards your father and your unhealthy ambition to overthrow him even if that means  _ murdering  _ others.”

“What?!” Goro snaps defensively.

“With what power I had left, I granted the wildcard power to him,” Igor cocks his head at Akira, “And to a companion that would help him reach his full potential. They did not disappoint me.”

“He defeated Yaldabaoth and saved my master,” Lavenza joins, “And now, he’s going to save you.”

“Wait, stop, hold on,” Goro stutters, “ _ He _ defeated a  _ god _ , and saved you. So now, he’s going to save  _ me _ ?” he squints his eyes, “That’s rich. Are you sure you didn’t mean he’s going to  _ punish _ me for what I’ve done?”

“So you don’t deny that you’ve killed before,” Akira points out.

Goro glares at him, but says nothing. He clicks his tongue and sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose, “Well, is this all you’re going to show me? Because I’ve wasted more than enough time as it is.”

Akira shakes his head, “What am I?” 

“Excuse me?”

“You’re justice, Igor is Fool, Lavenza is strength, Shougo is Devil. You can see it too, can’t you? What arcana am I?”

“...Fool.”

Akira nods, “The Velvet Room exists to help us, the tricksters. The way they do it always have something to do with persona. The stronger your bonds are to people with different arcanas, the stronger your personas from respective arcanas will be.”

Goro frowns, “I don’t follow.”

“Your arcana is justice, and your persona’s arcana is also justice. Are the other ones also justice?” a nod, “Then it either means you’ve been by yourself, or your friends are also of justice arcana. The more bonds you have with various arcanas, the more personas you can have, and the stronger they’ll get.”

Akira can see a light bulb appearing by Goro’s side, “Which means that I’m going to have to make friends?”

“Exactly.”

“That’s… interesting. I have to admit that I’ve never had the time to make friends,” Goro contemplates, “How about you? How many personas do you have?”

“191 total of personas from each 21 arcanas,” Lavenza answers for Akira, “They are all saved in the compendium.”

Goro’s eyes widen, “That’s - how do you?”

Akira shrugs, “I only carry 12 around, and, well, I got them mostly from here and by negotiating with the shadows.”

“Wait, you can negotiate with them to join you?” Goro strokes his chin, “I have negotiated with them for information, but I’ve never thought about negotiating them into joining me.”

An idea appears inside Akira’s head, “Come with me tomorrow, just see it for yourself. Not in Mementos, though.”

“Oh?” Goro tilts his head, “Where is it going to be, then?”

“I can’t say it now, but it’s close to our school, so you don’t have to worry about it.”

“Why not here and now, though? I can sense shadows here.”

Akira taps his imaginary watch on his left wrist, raising an eyebrow at him. Goro sighs, checking his  _ real _ watch and notices that it has, indeed, gotten late. He nods to Akira and then to Igor and Lavenza.

“Very well. Tomorrow it is.”

It has gotten real dark in the real world, and the station is now filled with tired-looking adults going home from work. The few teenagers besides the two of them that’s occasionally seen here and there reeks of sweat and probably are a part of some sport clubs in their school who’s heading home after an evening club practice. 

Goro insists on following Akira to Leblanc and convinces Akira that he can make some kind of excuse so Sojiro so Akira wouldn’t get in trouble, but Akira knows Goro, and he knows that he’ll probably going to get interviewed by him. As much as Akira would love to sleep immediately, he decides that Goro deserves answers, and let him follow him home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for making you guys wait so long! It's a quick update because Uni life has been too tiring for me to write anything serious. But I can still write fluff(COUGHShuKitaCOUGH) because those don't require too much brain work.
> 
> Anyway, sorry for the short update. I wrote this chapter as an escape from mid-semester exam lmao. I'll update properly once the exam is over! Again, sorry! 
> 
> Btw, yes, AkeShu is just going to be platonic. Sorry, I'm not feeling those two romantically, but I love the idea of Akira being close to Akechi like he is to Ryuji.


	4. A Way to Make Friends

“You knew that I'm a persona user even before you “accidentally” saw my phone, don't you?” Goro asks as soon as Sojiro left Leblanc.

The two are now sitting facing each other in one of the booths in Leblanc. Akira had expected that something like this would happen, so he acts nonchalant and dismissively, much to Goro’s irritation, as he weighs his options between lying and telling him the truth. After all, lying to Goro might not be smart, since he had probably deducted some things from his behaviour to come to such conclusion.

Akira nods, “Yeah. Igor asked me to find you, after all.”

“I knew it was strange for you to know that the one giving me my power was not the same as the one giving you yours before we’re even in the Velvet Room,” Goro nods, “How much do you know about… what I'm doing?”

“I know about Isshiki Wakaba?” Akira offers, raising his eyebrows when Goro flinched.

“I did  _ not _ kill her,” Goro breathes heavily, “All I did was-”

“Caused mental shutdown which resulted in her losing her consciousness and fell and hit by a car, I know,” Akira answers in his stead.

Goro stares at him wide-eyed, looking surprised, as though not knowing what to say. Akira observes Goro as he opens his mouth to say something, only to close it again. So Akira continues,

“I also know that that wasn't the last time you've caused the mental shutdown, either,” Akira pauses, staring flat into Goro's now panicked looking eyes that refuse to look back at him, “I also know that you don't do those stuffs because you liked it. I think, well, I think somebody must have ordered you to do so.”

Goro stares at his shoes before nodding, “What makes you so sure that I didn't do it for myself?”

“Well, you don't benefit from the mental shutdowns.”

“You’re so naive,” Goro shakes his head, “What if I did those things because I like it? Because they excite me? Because I’m a cruel, cold-blooded killer?”

Akira frowns, “But you’re not.”

“What do you know?!” Goro hisses, “We've only met yesterday! You don't know me!”

“I suppose I don't,” Akira replies coolly, leaning back to the booth’s sofa, “I just want to believe that you're a good person.”

Goro’s eyes widen, he shakes his head and mumbles a, “Damn optimist,” contrary to his bright red face. 

Despite Goro’s attempt to mumble under his breath, Akira can hear him just fine and would very much love to say something witty back to him, he refrains from doing so. He smiles at him instead and scratches the back of his head, mocking a flattered expression as he nods and smiles.

“That wasn’t a compliment,” Goro glares at Akira’s gesture, and frowns even more as the black-haired teen throws his head back and laughs. Loudly. He doesn’t want to admit it, but Akira is… interesting. Goro sighs dramatically, “You know what. I’m going home.”

Akira bites his lip and stops laughing. He looks over at the clock and notices that the next train would probably be the last train, and nods. 

“I’ll walk you to the station,” Akira says as he stands up and opens the door for Goro.

“No need,” Goro says as he taps the screen of his phone, “I’ll just catch a cab.”

“Won’t it be expensive though? I mean, your house is in Nakano right?”

Goro raises his head from his phone and stares at Akira, smirking, “How observant. Ever considered working as a detective?”

Akira mirrors his smirk, “Never. But I’ll gladly help you, if you want. In your detective work, though. Not the other one.”

Goro scoffs, “Like I need your help.”

“Right,” Akira nods, “Well, I need your help, though.”

Goro stares at him before smiling his signature smile, “Oh?”

Akira shuts back the door, “I’m asking you to not stick out. By that, I mean don’t accept any credits that are done publicly; Don’t accept interviews with the mass media,  _ especially _ the TV; Don’t make yourself known to people in Japan. Just don’t.”

Goro’s smile fades, “And why not?”

“What I’m going to teach you tomorrow will catch the public’s attention, eventually. You don’t need to bring even more attention to yourself, alright? It’ll cause you troubles you don’t need, it’ll get into your work, and you wouldn’t like it, and the public may turn to you in the worst way possible. So just - don’t.”

The two teenagers lock eyes, glaring into each other’s eyes as the tick tocks of the clock plays in a steady rhythm in the background, much like the beat of Akira’s heart. Akira knows that Goro’s reputation is what makes him successful and maybe even keeps him feel alive. In a life where the boy doesn’t receive the recognition of his own father, the recognition of public over his hard work - a fraud it may be, but a hard work nonetheless - must have feel nice, probably even rewarding. 

But Goro doesn’t need that if he become one of the Phantom Thieves. The public will recognise the Phantom Thieves, which means they will basically recognise Goro as well, and this time in a good light. If he decide to show up in the TV, no matter what he say, it will turn on him just like last time. Akira still remembers the mean comments about Goro, and it hurts him to see his  _ friend _ getting insulted over his opinion.

“Either way it’s too late,” Goro breaks their silence, “I’ve already been in the TV several times.”

“Then don’t do it anymore,” Akira inhales deeply, “Please.”

Goro looks down at their feet, he sighs and tucks strands of hair behind his ear, “I’ll think about it,” Akira perks up, and Goro holds up his hand, “No promises. But I’ll consider it.”

“That’s good enough,” Akira smiles in relief, “Thank you.”

Goro huffs, glancing at Akira as he opens the door, “I really don’t know why you thank me, nor why you care so much about my reputation. But if what you’re going to teach me tomorrow turn out to be as potentially harmful to my reputation as you say it is, then I’ll follow your advice.”

Akira nods, “You do that.”

Goro narrows his eyes, but shrugs and nods in reply before walking out of the cafe, “I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

“Shibuya before school?”

“...No, after school.”

“Cool. Take care on your way back.”

Goro scoffs, but put on a weak polite smile and tilts his head, “Sakura-san told me you’re not allowed to go out, so don’t, okay? Don’t cause any trouble or it will be on  _ me _ .”

Akira chuckles as he waves his hand towards Goro’s leaving back, and locks the door of Leblanc before retiring for the night.

 

* * *

 

Akira still has no idea why a school like Seiichi would accept a student with a record like him, but he’s thankful. School life is easier here than in Shujin, he even considers to forget about his dorky glasses meant to keep him being a wallflower during his time in Tokyo. 

Here, in Seiichi, he has the peculiar twins, Shougo and Sayaka, one a Devil and the other Temperance, as his friends he can feel at home with, a librarian he can discuss books with, and a curious exchange student who relies on his English ability to translate things said by other students to him. Now  _ this _ is a high school life he deserved to have in Shujin if Kamoshida hadn’t leak his criminal record.

Akira has football during P.E. today, and, being embarrassingly bad at the sport, he refuses to play with other guys after period and explores the schoolground by himself. He wonders around the gyms and outdoor field, and moves to cover the school building afterwards.

He starts with  practice building, peeking inside the extracurricular club rooms from the huge windows and somehow getting dragged into Sayaka’s home economic class and leaves with a hamburger. He thanks the ombre-haired girl and moves on to the classroom building.

The third year classes are in the first floor, and he looks for Goro, peeking through the window of each classes. He notices Goro from one of the classroom’s window, staring outside the window in the other side of the class, not bothering to hide the fact that he’s not paying attention to the class. 

The lunch bell rings and he observes as Goro’s class got dismissed by the teacher. Instantly, the students scatter about to either group with their friends or head outside of the class. Goro stays in his seat by himself, though. He takes out a convenient store lunch set from his bag and places it on his table.

Goro is separating the disposable chopsticks that comes with the lunch set when Akira decides to ask for him via one of Goro’s classmates.

He raises his eyebrows as he turns to see Akira, still in his P.E. uniform, standing in front of his class and waving his hand at him. He can also feel the curious stare of his classmates, an unwanted attention in the long awaited lunch break.

“Goro-senpai,” Akira calls, “Wanna eat lunch with me?”

Goro doesn’t show it, but Akira  _ knows _ that Goro is suspicious towards him. He nods sweetly, though, pretending that it’s normal and brings his lunch set with him as he approaches Akira.

“Where are we going?” Goro asks as the two head upstairs.

“My classroom to take my wallet, after that we're heading to the cafeteria.”

“Oh, we're really just going to eat?” Goro asks, sounding genuinely surprised, “I thought you'd like to talk more regarding last night's topic.”

“Not everything is all business, senpai,” Akira smiles, “Some people do genuinely want to be friends with you, you know.”

Goro opens his mouth to reply him, but somehow the words are stuck in his throat. Akira turns to smirk at the blushing senior and grins, nudging his side playfully.

Goro clears his throat, “Aren't you going to change first?”

Akira looks down at his P.E. uniform and shrugs, “Nah, I'll do it later.”

 

* * *

 

Akira and Goro are now seated, not in cafeteria, but in front of the archery practice building. The reason being, well, the moment the crowd noticed Goro entering the cafeteria, their stare never left him, along with the hushed squeals of his fangirls. It was really uncomfortable for the two, and fortunately they met the Inui twins, who later dragged the two to the archery practice building.

The archery club building is small and secluded, and it sticks out like a sore thumb with its traditional Japanese-style building amongst the modern architecture of the Seiichi Academy. However, since it’s located far behind the main school buildings, nobody ever bothered to visit the building except the club member, like the twins, themselves.

“To be honest, this is the first time I’ve ever been here,” Goro confesses, looking around in awe at the building.

“That’s normal,” says Sayaka,  biting the straw of her boxed milk, “If we aren’t members of the archery club, we would have never visited this building either.”

“She’s right,” Shougo agrees, grinning, “Nice spot ‘ta take a nap and play hooky though.”

Akira grins back at him and nods, “Agreed. Don’t do that alone though.”

“Akira-kun,” Goro warns, frowning at him even more when Akira and Shougo hold their thumbs up and wink at each other.

“I’m kidding, senpai, don’t wanna get expelled, after all,” Akira waves it off nonchalantly.

“Skippin’ class would only getcha a detention at most, ya won’t get expelled.”

Goro clears his throat, “He’s kidding, of course. Speaking of which, how come Akira-kun is so fluent in regular Japanese? Do you not speak in dialect even back at home?”

“Nah, I did speak in dialect. I had a friend from Tokyo back in my old school, so I’m now basically doing a never-ending impression of him while I’m here, in Tokyo.”

“I tried ‘ta speak in regular Japanese the first few months, but I gave up. Don’t know how ya do it, both of ya, but I’m impressed!

“It’s really not that hard, though. You just have to make a little effort. But then again, this is  _ you _ we’re talking about.”

The twins then bicker in high speed debate of who is worse than who in thick Chugoku dialect that makes Goro laughs at the irony, and of course at the colourful swears and insults that the twins casually throw at each other. Akira snickers along, occasionally laughing out loud when some insults probably only known by people from Chugoku are mentioned, which makes Goro knits his eyebrows together in confusion but laugh at the silly sound of it anyway.

The bell rings not long after and they head towards the main building. The twins walk in front of the two and converse about a completely different topic peacefully, acting like they weren’t bickering just a mere seconds ago. Goro looks genuinely impressed by it.

“What good friends, those two,” Goro comments, “Noisy, but enviable.”

“Remember what Igor said about making friends?” Akira asks in small voice to avoid being heard by the twins, “When you have personas with the same arcanas as those two, you can get closer to them way faster than not having one.”

Goro raises one of his eyebrows, amused, “Is this what this is all about? A tutorial?”

Akira grins, “That too, but I told you, I genuinely want to be your friend.”

“Right,” Goro scoffs, shaking his head, “Do you have a persona that has a Justice arcana right now, then?”

Akira chuckles but shakes his head, “Don’t need one. We’ll get closer, sooner or later.”

“Such arrogance,” Goro challenges, tilting his head and smirking at the younger boy.

Akira mirrors his smirk, “I prefer to call it “confidence”, but whatever floats your boat, I guess.”

Goro laughs, shaking his head, “You really are interesting, Akira-kun.”

Akira winks and sticks his tongue out, and holds his thumbs up in reply. Shougo calls for Akira in panic out of the blue, mentioning their still unchanged P.E. uniform and something about strict biology teacher, and the two dash into the building to change their uniform, leaving Sayaka and Goro behind.

Sayaka glances at Goro and laughs. He, in exchange, tilts his head as a form of silent question and she shakes her head, “No, just thinking about how normal you turn out to be. Ah, to think that I used to dislike you before even talking to you.”

“You did?” Goro asks, surprised, “Why?”

“You’re so… weird,” she shrugs, “You tried so hard to act like a grown-up, which is fine and all, but you act like a robot at times, you know? All smile-and-wave and polite, like a  robot programmed to act like how a “pleasant person” is supposed to act.”

Goro’s eyes widened, “You… disliked me for being a pleasant person?”

“What? No!” Sayaka laughs out loud, “I’m saying you don’t act genuine. Some people are mature and it’s in their nature to act like a grown-up, but you always seem so distant. Like, like you wished you don’t have to be pleasant all the time, you know?”

“I… still don’t get it.”

Sayaka shrugs, “You know what? Forget what I just said. Just remember the part where I said I don’t dislike you anymore, alright?”

Goro tilts his head, “Okay?”

“Great!” Sayaka grins, “Your class is in this floor right? I’m gonna run now! See you when I see you, senpai!”

Goro nods and waves back at Sayaka, who just got yelled at by one of the teacher for running in the corridor, and heads towards his own classroom. The voice inside him still wonders about what she just said about disliking him for being a pleasant person. After all, he  _ worked hard _ to seem pleasant.

Maybe he’ll know what she meant later when he finally has his hands on a temperance arcana persona, Goro shrugs.

He sits on his seat, watching the clock from its reflection on the window. He can’t wait for Akira’s next tutorial after school later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAVE YOU GUYS SEEN THE ANIME? BC HOLYSHIT THE ANIMATION IS SO PRETTY.
> 
> Also, I love the name Akira but man do I love the kanji for Amamiya Ren.   
> Not going to change Akira's name in this fic, though. Just saying.

**Author's Note:**

> Akechi is such an interesting character, if I had the choice to kick him in the shin, you better believe me when I said that I totally would do that. But I think he deserved better, and he had the potential to be.... more... well, just, be more, am I making any sense?
> 
> Anyway! I made Akira calls Akechi "senpai" and makes Akechi ignore the honorifics bc Akechi is a huge narcissist, like he loves to show off and be respected(this is not my word, this is something Atlus said themselves), but makes Akechi asked him to call him Goro bc that's how high school students talk ok. They don't call each other with their family names unless they're not that close or they have formal relationship(like a club leader and the youngest club member), or they're not that close at first but then got close but they're now too used by the name so changing the way they call each other seems weird.
> 
> Also, I know that most people like to think that Akira's hometown isn't that far from Tokyo, but I just want him to originates from Iwakuni bc um, well, there is literally no other reason other than my hometown needs some love. 
> 
> Trivia: Seiichi Academy(正一学園), the school that I made up for Akechi is written with the kanji 正 (correct, right, and the word 正義 , means justice) and 一 (one), I just think it'd be a perfect school name for him? Am I right?
> 
> Thank you for reading!


End file.
